6 Social Media Sites Your Mobile Concession Business Needs to Use
Social media is a fast and free way to market your business. These sites allow you to interact with your customers in fun and exciting ways, from short creative videos to mouth-watering pictures. Well-maintained social sites that get regular updates will give your business a big boost and put your mobile concession truck on the map. Here are the must-use sites for your mobile concession business:
Image via Flickr by Lisa @ Sierra Tierra
Twitter is great in the mobile concessions business because you might not always have a lot to say, and Twitter only allows messages that are 140 characters or less. When you have something short and sweet to share, such as your location, then this is the place to do it.
Additionally, hashtags make it easy to track trending topics and see what others have to say about your business. Choose a hashtag that you want to associate with your business and include it on your truck, your ads, your website, and anywhere else customers will see it. This makes it easy to find tweets related to your food truck. Create hashtags for special events or promos as well so they’re easy to track.
Twitter serves two important purposes. It allows you to share messages quickly, and it gives you a platform for communicating publicly with your customers. When someone communicates with you on Twitter, respond promptly. Everyone is watching.
Vine
Vine is a video tool owned by Twitter. You have only six seconds of video to play with in each post, so you’ll need use concise visual media in the same way as you would practice brevity in a traditional Twitter post. Vine is a powerful choice for mobile concessions users because it allows you to show and not tell.
When you’re creating a video with Vine, you need to go for impact. Six seconds isn’t enough to tell a long story, but it is enough to shock, amuse, or entertain. The goal is always to engage your customer enough to get him to share your content. If your Vine is so interesting that viewers watch it again and then send it to a friend, you’ve achieved your goal.
Though Vine videos are short, you shouldn’t create them on the fly. Script out your shots ahead of time. You don’t have to use six continuous seconds of a single shot. Three two-second shots are effective for sharing a brief sequence of events. Vine videos loop continuously so you want to take this feature into consideration as well when you’re designing each post. A great Vine post will leave your customers intrigued and ready to try a bite.
Instagram is a popular photo sharing site with more than 130 million users. The app originated as a way to share photos with artistic filters. As Vine gained popularity, Instagram decided to jump on board with the video trend. Now you can share both photos and videos on Instagram. Like Vine, this social media site is ideal for food businesses because of the visual aspect.
Instagram makes it easy to turn an average photo into an eye-catching masterpiece with just a few taps. The secret is in the filters. Use the right filters and you can punch up any image. The “Toaster” filter gives your photo a burnt quality, warming it up. “Hudson” cools down an image that looks too warm. If you’re trying to bring out the color in a pic with dim lighting, give “Amaro” a try.
Use Instagram to show off your food in the best possible light. This app posts seamlessly to other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as well so you can get the most impact possible with each photo.
Facebook is the most popular social media site in the United States with 57.1 percent of the market share of visits. The site offers a variety of marketing tools and is easily customized to meet the needs of your concession stand. Your Facebook profile should tell visitors everything they would want to know about your truck. Map your locations. Post photos of the truck, menu items, and events. Share news and engage your customers.
On Facebook, your followers can comment on your posts, so make the most of this feature by asking specific questions. If you’re wondering which flavored mayo deserves a permanent spot on the menu and which to nix, take to Facebook and watch the debate rage. Facebook is easily integrated with other sites like Vine and Instagram for sharable media.
FourSquare
FourSquare is great for your mobile concessions stand because it makes it easy for customers to check in and let others know when they’re eating with you. This social network offers lots of marketing tools that are well-suited to this business. People who check in to multiple food trucks on the site even earn a special badge.
Set up a rewards system on FourSquare so visitors earn special offers by “checking in” again and again. You can set the required number of check-ins for each promotion and design special incentives. Give away a free item or discount for loyal customers who visit often. Make sure you advertise your FourSquare presence on the truck itself so your customers know they can check in to your mobile business.
YouTube
YouTube allows you to make full videos, making it ideal for mobile concessions businesses who want to create a commercial. This is where you can really let your creativity go wild. The most popular YouTube videos are usually those that are a little over-the-top. Don’t be bland. Make your video as thrilling as your food.
If you’re drawing a blank here, put your fans to work. Run a contest challenging them to come up with the most engaging commercial for your product. The entries alone will spark interest in your truck. Take the time to screen them all and come up with a great prize for the winner.
Set up your social media presence from day one and your mobile concessions business can generate buzz very quickly. Russell Concession & Mobile Kitchens will give you the supplies you need for success, while social media offers you a tool for sharing it.
